Soup mix, delicious crunchy cereal that won’t kill the calorie bank, a healthy butter replacement, ready made muffin tops, a yummy heat and eat Mexican entrée are just a few of the food finds I have to share today. I had double the amount of products that I wanted to post about so it was a tough decision which ones to go with first. I can’t wait for you to see the new smoothie container I found!

This soup mix is available in most grocery stores in my area and can be found in the Asian food aisle. If you add a few fresh veggies like shredded carrots, cabbage, spinach or kale, bean sprouts, cilantro or basil and some shredded chicken you can make a decent quick soup. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice and you are good to go.

It is a little high in sodium but then most pre-packaged products like this usually are.

We are big fans of Nature’s Path cereals. They are hearty, wholesome, low fat, low sugar and most of all delicious.

I don’t eat cold cereal with milk very often but Hubby Tom does and this is one of his favorites. I sometimes like to sprinkle a little cereal on my fruit and yogurt bowl for some added crunch and this works nicely. A couple weeks ago I shared about Heritage Flakes made by the same company. These are sold in many regular grocery stores, Whole Foods, Trader Joes and health food stores.

Brummel & Brown is so tasty and no cholesterol! Sorry for the blurry photo but it says 1 tablespoon is only 45 calories and 5g fat.

I see this spread in all the grocery stores where I live. The entire family will eat this without complaint.

Years ago I use to order these and have them shipped overnight – until it got way too costly to do so. After experimenting with a few recipes I started making my own Banana Nut MuffinTops which are a nice substitute even if I do say so myself.

Now Target carries these in the freezer section! Every once in a while they go on sale and I get a couple boxes to put in my freezer. Pop one in the microwave or the toaster to heat it up and it’s delicious with a cup of hot tea. It tastes like homemade but without any work on my part. They also carry the chocolate Vitatop. The cranbran is my favorite. I have read that some Costco’s carry Vitatops but mine doesn’t, boo-hoo I wish they did.

The name of this cracked me up. I don’t intend to fill mine up with soda pop or moonshine! On the back of the box it says “Perfect for sippin’ when yer road-trippin”! Made in the USA this holds a whopping 32 ounces.

This Ball jar with a modified lid - it has a rubber gasket on top to prevent leakage (reusable straw included) will make the perfect vessel for smoothies or good ole water. I like the country charm. Now Hubby Tom wants me to go get him one. I found this at a Hallmark store of all places for $9.99. I saw that they are available on Amazon as well as other on line vendors.

It was close to lunch time when I was shopping at Trader Joe’s so I browsed the frozen food section in search of something easy to heat and eat once I arrived back home. That is when I spied this Black Bean & Corn Enchilada dish that I use to have at least once a week until I got burned out on it!

It was so good, just the right amount of spicy going on and so filling. A little low-fat sour cream is all I added and it filled me up for hours! I use to put it on a bed of chopped romaine lettuce but I forgot to buy romaine yesterday so I had it solo. Thank goodness I bought an extra for the freezer. Note that the nutritional information is for one enchilada – who is going to eat only one? Really?

When the Trader Joe’s clerk saw my total purchase amount he rang the Trader Joe’s bell and all the other workers stopped what they were doing and clapped and hollered! I had no idea what was going on (I’m sure I turned several shades of pink) until he told me it was my lucky day as I was being gifted the shopping bag you see here! He said it’s a new promotion they have for every customer purchase that totals as an even dollar amount (no cents) they gift you a Trader Joe’s shopping bag. Yeah for me! I needed it too as I only had two bags with me but needed a third!

Disclaimer – All Food Finds were items that were purchased with my own money.

Nutmeg Notes

For the past 7 weeks I have had to impose on others to get around town but not anymore! It was a wonderful sense of freedom to get in the car yesterday and drive myself. Woo-hoo! First off was the imaging center to get foot x-rays for my upcoming appointment with the surgeon later this week. After that I did a little shopping! It was my first solo shopping excursion post foot surgery and I felt so grown up! The sun was shining and it was the perfect day to be out and about.

I logged over 5000 steps yesterday! In the morning I did my own version of “exercise” by taking laps around the downstairs floor and each time I entered the entryway I walked up the 17 steps to the second floor and back down! This was all done at a slow pace but, it was steps and they all add up. I also did a short sitting down session of upper body work with light hand weights. Later this week I will find out when I can resume walking on the treadmill or my outdoors route! Wish me luck.

I am happy to report that last weeks mini goals were mostly met!

1. Cook two new healthy recipes that I bought ingredients for. (We need some new eats – one is a breakfast recipe)

I cooked three new recipes.

2. Spend more time on my feet and less time sitting. (As my foot allows of course)

According to my fitbit one I am doing well! Each higher step day is usually followed by fewer steps the next day as I seem to need a little bit of a recovery as far as foot swelling and discomfort go. After a day of recovery I am able to be more active so it is a work in progress.

3. Take my vitamins everyday.

I only missed one day. I have no idea how that happened but the next day the previous days pills were still in my box.

4. Drink 8 glasses of water a day. (It’s so much more difficult to do this during the winter months)

The first few days were a challenge and I had to make myself drink the water but once I got use to drinking lots of water again it got easier. Now I seem to need the extra water.

I didn’t make any new goals this week. I’m just going to continue to do well with last weeks goals minus the new recipes. I have a lot going on this week and don’t know how much creative cooking time there will be.

Thank you everyone for the wonderful blog anniversary wishes! I feel so lucky to have all of you as you readers and internet friends!

Tami says:

I must have missed a post – need to go back and look, but Happy Blogging Anniversary Tammy!

Our local grocery stores had been trying to encourage people to use their own bags and were giving a 5-cent credit for each bag you brought in and used. It got me 30 cents per week off my bill. Not much, but still. Every once in a while I’d not use my bags so I could get some plastic since I use those to line my smaller trash cans around the house.

Last week I went in and there was a sign saying they no longer are giving the credit. So when I shop at that store, I don’t use my bags. So far the other stores are still giving the credit, though I wonder how long that will last… sort of like when airlines first started charging for luggage. Once one did it they all, except Southwest and Jet Blue, I think, jumped on the bandwagon.

Tami says:

Our Whole Foods gives a bag credit or you can donate the credit to charity but I don’t think any of the others have that policy. One of the local Walmart stores charges you for bags if you don’t bring your own! Maybe that is a CA thing.

I like to get the plastic Target bags as they are thick and so nice to reuse! I use them all the time to send goodies home with the kids when they visit. David says it’s like getting party favors!

Don’t get me started on the baggage charge issue! I am not that fond of flying to begin with and once they started to nickel and dime us to death I like it even less!

Tami says:

Eileen says:

I use resusable bags. I get credit at several stores, and I even use my bags at stores I do not get credit. I got so tired of all the plastic bags and I would forget to recycle them until I had a huge pile of them they would go in our garbage recycle bin. I also use the reuseable bags for my children to take home leftovers. But somehow they remember to return them for a refill.

Tami says:

I discovered those noodles in the gluten-free section at Walmart several months ago and love them too! I keep a few on hand for meal emergencies. I can not tell you how jealous I am of that Rednek Guzzler! I need it, oh how I want one! I am getting one as soon as I possibly can–anything you drink out of it is so much more fun! It would be great for tea, something I’m drinking a lot of lately. Also I keep a drink container in the fridge at work, I think I’d turn a few heads if I traded my canister in for that guzzler! haha! Congrats winning the shopping bag-that is too cool. We use reuseable bags at Aldi b/c you have to pay for your bags there, but we always forget our bags when we go shopping other places. We need to just keep them permanently in the trunk. Glad you’re doing better and are able to go out on your own! What an incredible feeling of freedom that must be!

Tami says:

I love vita tops! You’re right, they are pricey, so I’ll have to check out your recipe.
I also really enjoy the thai kitchen products. I think it’s fun to take those mixes and sort of “make them your own” by adding your own veggies and other ingredients. I love it!

Tami says:

I’m so glad to read you are slowly getting back to your normal routine. yay!

I love the thai kitchen soups and noodle bowls…my daughter actually turned me on to them a few months ago…I also LOVE the annie chun’s brand. Try them if you haven’t! The miso soup is delicious and filling for a respectable amount of calories…and you get a ton of chewy noodles!

and brummel and brown is a staple in my house. I don’t use it as a spread, but I do use it on vegetables.

Super duper cool about the bag at TJ’s!!!!!
Take care Tami and keep heading down the road to recovery!

Tami says:

I keep my shopping bags in the car but sometimes forget to carry them into the store!
Well the rest of the ingredients list is somewhat suspect now that you brought that to my attention! I have to check into the list of ingredients and learn more. Thanks for bringing that up Cammy!

That’s too funny about your TJ’s experience! I have many reusable bags, but always forget them at home. They get used at the store then gets hung up in the house right next to the door, but we never bring them.

I LOVE your redneck waterbottle!!! I’d get one, but my hands are so small, I’d be afraid that a heavy glass + water combination would be a dangerous combination. Darn my tiny hands!

BTW…the other day I needed only 2 tbsp of tomato paste for a recipe and thanks to your advice of freezing leftover paste, I didn’t have to open up a new can! Thanks, Tami!

Glad you’re getting out and about and are getting to resume your normal activities again! Don’t push too hard though!

janine says:

A super congratulations on the blog anniversary. Really, it sure doesn’t seem like it’s been very long since you started it. Time flies.
Wow–you’re getting in a LOT of steps, and doing those stairs too. Awesome job. I’m positive your doctor is going to be thrilled with your progress.
Trader Joe’s is my second home–so I’m always finding new goodies to play with there. I’ve never seen them do the bag give-away, that had to be fun. One of my daughter’s friends registered for redneck wine glasses–pretty darned fun.I hadn’t seen the smoothie version. What a great idea. Glad you’re finally able to make a break for it and get out and about.